UFC fights will be streamed on ESPN Plus starting in January

UFC and the Walt Disney Co. have reached an agreement for live fight coverage on its new subscription streaming service beginning in January 2019.

The agreement announced Tuesday calls for 15 live UFC events to stream exclusively on ESPN Plus. Each event will be called "UFC on ESPN Plus Fight Night" and will feature 12 bouts.

UFC fight previews, analysis and replays of pay-per-view events also will be available on ESPN's cable networks.

The deal gives Disney's new Direct-to-Consumer and International segment mixed martial arts inventory popular with young audiences.

UFC has had a broadcast agreement with Fox that started in 2011 and expires at the end of this year. A UFC spokesman said discussions are being held with Fox about having fights on its main network or FS1.